DT vs DWD
by RedHatMeg
Summary: A series of comparision articles between two "duck" series. First one - Scrooge McDuck vs. Drake Mallard.


**DT vs. DWD – Scrooge McDuck vs. Drake Mallard**

So as you can see I finally decided to make a comparison articles of two famous "duck" series – _DuckTales_ and _Darkwing Duck_. I've discovered them both only this year, because I wasn't very fond of Donald Duck comics as a kid, and they played only seven episodes of _Darkwing Duck_ in my country due to its dark atmosphere. Nevertheless, I have my opinion and so I apologize for all bias you may find here and there.

Let's begin with main characters. And I mean absolutely main characters, the protagonists, the guys that play first violin, guys that have archnemesis, the heroes, who are in centre of attention, guys that… you know the drill. Well, it's very simple in Darkwing's case, but some people may argue with me if we can consider Scrooge as a main character of _DuckTales_. After all there are also Huey, Dewey and Louie. However, the plot of most episodes evolves around Scrooge and his Money Bin, while his nephews plays the role of tagalong kids. And we are going to talk about tagalongs later.

So Scrooge McDuck and Drake Mallard. Many things we can say about them. They both are very expressive characters. Take a look on Scrooge. He is that greedy miser we remember from Barks' comics. We can see his tightfisted personality from the very first episode, when he is walking (taxis are expensive) to the harbor to pick up Huey, Dewey and Louie. On his way he meets a shop hostess and takes all free cheese she has, just because it's free! Then he orders his nephews to take their luggage and walk whole way to his mansion! He's like the living Scottish joke (about him being Scot later). He swims in his Money Bin like in the pool, pays Lounchpad almost nothing, seeks for any way to save even one cent, and faints, when he has to spend or give away something!

But we know that it's more than meets the eye. This guy earned his money with hard work and all the things he did in the past make him a badass adventurer. He might look old with binoculars and walking stick, but he can fight monsters, climb on the mountains, set a trap… Normally a superman! Also after few episodes someone, who hadn't read comics before (like me) suddenly realizes he's a very sympathetic character. He has some sense of business ethics and really cares for his nephews. Sometimes it's clearly shown that he loves them more than his fortune. Before discovering the show, the only thing I knew about him was that he is a miser, so I didn't like him very much. Actually thanks to _DuckTales_ I've realize how wonderful character Scrooge McDuck is.

Now, unto to his Scottishness. I have a soft spot for Scottish culture, but it doesn't matter that every time, when someone was mentioning Scrooge's homeland I was in Nirvana. However, there were few moments that made me smile. First of all – Scrooge's Scottish accent. I was watching _DuckTales_ in my native language and Scrooge's accent was lost in translation, so every time, when some character was bringing it up, I was like: "Dude, what accent? He talks normally!" Not to mention, that Scrooge don't talks like Scot in comics. Even his parents don't talk like Scots in comics! However, judging from these few fragments of original _DuckTales_ I've seen, his Scottish accent sounds rather natural. Listening Scrooge I didn't have the impression that he's a medieval knight transported into 20th century, or some guy from countryside, who talks funny. He sounded Scottish, but still had some a dignity.

Next thing – the gag that was just overused in so many movies, cartoons and TV shows: famous bagpipes. OK, I know that general opinion is that they sound like squeaks of victimized cat, but people who think like that hadn't heard "Amazing Grace" or "Scotland the Brave" on bagpipes, or Slade's "Run Runaway". But back to the point – it's mentioned at least two times that Scrooge likes bagpipes. Actually in "DuckTales" universe he wanted to play on them as a youngster, but even his father couldn't listen him playing it. Beagle Boys, on the other hand, uses this instrument to torture their hostages (Huey, Dewey and Louie, and few random people). Everybody – the hostages, the policemen, the crowd etc. – they all are covering their ears… except Scrooge, who listen it with delight.

And finally the last thing – the kilts. Actually one of the reasons that _Once Upon a Dime_ is my favorite episode is that Scrooge wears traditional Scottish outfit there and looks absolutely gorgeous in it! Don't get me wrong – his regular cloth isn't bad too, but, damn it, he's so awesome in green. Why the hell he don't wear kilt more often? Every time I see this episode I'm turning into Scottish culture fangirl (if I something like that exist).

Don Rosa's famous _Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck_ series was published two years after last aired episode of _DuckTales_, so we don't see much references to Scrooge's past. However, the script authors had to base on the same information in Barks' comics as Don Rosa – the first earned dime, the steamboat race on Scrooge's uncle's ship, the gold-digging in Klondike and – of course – Goldie O'Glit, who shows surprisingly frequently… But let's talk about it later.

OK, we ended with Scrooge, so let's move to Darkwing Duck. While Scrooge's deadly sin is greed, the Darkwing's sin is pride. He's obnoxious and self-centered in almost every episode. It sometimes backfires at him, when the villain decides plays on his big ego to lure him into an obvious trap. That's how Taurus Bulba get him out from his hideout to capture Goslyn. He sends him a message that he is going to turn himself in, knowing that Drake will read it like this: "Ha, he finally realized that he is no much for me!" Goslyn, of course, tries to reason with him, but fails miserably, because Drake gets upset with her only to realize that she was right when it's too late. There is also a lot episodes when he suddenly loses his confidence and decides do abandon crime fighting, but Goslyn and Lounchpad help him believe in himself again. This shows that this guy is both proud and insecure; that his vanity hides a low self-esteem.

Still, he have also strong sense of justice and duty. He don't want to be hero just because of fame and prestige. No, he want to protect St. Canard, help the innocents, stop the evil-doers. Unfortunately, he's not always appreciated by citizens. Some consider him as rude, some as pathetic, some as just stupid. It kind of makes his pride reasonable – he want to be respected for all the effort he puts in crime fighting. Frankly, Goslyn always rushes with help with PR.

Also, he works really hard on his image. His every great entrance is a little spectacle with this puff of smoke, theatrical pose and famous line: "I am the terror that flaps in the night! I am (insert weird, but cool metaphor here)! I am DARKWING DUCK!" All those things makes his appearance dramatic. I've only realized it months after being hooked into this show, but his attire is clearly based on "The Shadow". Well, OK, Shadow had a scarf covering his mouth and Darkwing Duck has a mask, but the rest of their styles is particularly the same – the cape, the suit, the hat… everything!

And don't forget that Darkwing Duck is actually a Trope Namer. The trope Let's Get Dangerous describes a situation when character that supposed to be weak, useless in combat or just avoiding the fight, suddenly reveals that they aren't so harmless as they looked. The TVTropes explains the origin of this trope with these words:

_This was the catchphrase of Darkwing Duck, a bumbling hero who revealed his true competence and effectiveness from behind a pompous exterior after saying this Catch Phrase._

But what about his alter ego – Drake Mallard? Well, from the first two episodes we can judge that there is no alter ego. Darkwing Duck always wears his costume, always has a mask on his face, and particularly lives in his secret hideout. When he takes Goslyn to his place and she asks if he could take off his mask for a close friend, he refuses. However, at the end of the second pilot episode, when she thinks he's dead, he appears in her orphanage as a Drake Mallard and wants to adopt her. He needs to become Drake Mallard again (after years of being Darkwing Duck) so he can take care of Goslyn. In later episodes we see how he struggles with normal life problems – with raising Goslyn, with annoying neighbors, with housework etc. We also find out that he had a low confidence as a kid, wasn't very popular in high school and that Darkwing Duck persona was born, when Megavolt appeared on the school prom and started to cause chaos.

I don't remember if there was a moment when Drake's secret identity was endangered. And I mean the situation when villain starts to suspect that this guy in green vest is actually Darkwing, and pulls an evil plot just to make sure if they're right. However, there was one Bruce Wayne Held Hostage situation when he had to show himself as a Darkwing Duck to Tuscelini, who was holding hostage Drake Mallard and his family! So poor duck was constantly running from other place to another.

In fact, sometimes he acts almost "too normal". He's much too enthusiastic about some regular activities, like camping, and his relations with Goslyn resembles regular relations between father and rather rebellious, vivid kid. I think that he's more used to his superhero lifestyle and he don't know how to deal with ordinary things. He can take down bunch of villains, but he needs a guide book on good parenting.

Comparing these two characters – Scrooge and Drake – to find out which one is better, is actually pointless. And I'm not talking about the preferences. We have to remember that they are completely different types of heroes in completely different types of stories. Darkwing Duck is superhero. Well, a bit humoristic superhero and the statement that he has some traits of parody, won't be far from truth. Many times the authors of the script make a joke about clichés typical for this genre. Scrooge, on the other hand, is an adventurer millionaire. OK, OK, he deals with guys who want to clear-out his Money Bin or are just mean and are doing something plain wrong, but generally he seeks treasures, finds lost civilizations and lands, turns back in time, falls victim of some Quid Pro Quo misunderstandings and has many adventures that happens in normal family series, but not in superhero stories. Well, of course, we have Gizmoduck and Scrooge becomes a superhero in one episode, but that's only one episode and he wants to reveal himself anyway.

Nonetheless they both are characters that, despite their clearly visible flaws, are very likable guys. Scrooge's greed or Darkwing's vanity are important parts of their personality, but mostly played for laughs. And we actually see that they are the good guys, after all. Darkwing Duck's purpose of life is to fight crime, and Scrooge's lust for money has some limits. Also don't forget that they are very good and loving caretakers of kids that are left under their care.

And that's all for "the main" protagonists. Next article will be either about tagalongs or Lounchpad. So stay tuned.


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